LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels continue its season-high 11 game homestand with a three-game conference series against San Jose State on the Mountain West Network, the first conference home games of the season, and a midweek game against CSU Bakersfield. UNLV and SJSU will square off Friday through Sunday, with games one and two that are both slated for 6:05 pm first pitches, while Sunday's finale will get going at 12:05 pm. The single game against CSUB will be on Monday, March 30 at 2:05 pm on the UNLV Athletics YouTube page.
Earlier this week, UNLV recorded a furious late-inning comeback against No. 22 Arizona State at the Las Vegas Ballpark, but the Rebels ultimately came up just short, falling 12-11.
Historically speaking, UNLV and SJSU have squared off a total of 95 times dating back to 1975. The Rebels lead the all-time series 54-41; however, the Spartans have crept closer since the 2023 campaign, winning seven of the last 12. CSU Bakersfield will make its way to Las Vegas Monday afternoon after it plays three straight in Northridge, California, against CSUN. The Roadrunners have played 18 of its 24 games, thus far, in the Golden State, with the other six in Texas.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS: Join us for Cancer Awareness Weekend as we recognize, honor and support everyone impacted by cancer. Fans can enjoy $2 beers through the second inning and $5 off ribbon fries on Friday, and $5 mimosas and Bloody Marys on Sunday, courtesy of Smoken Sam's. Be sure to come back to the Earl on Monday, March 30 to watch your Hustlin' Rebels face off against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners where fans can enjoy 2 for 1 Rebel Dogs while supplies last.
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this weekend's series against San Jose State and CSU Bakersfield through live stats, live video and social media. Links to stats and live video can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page as well as on the team's official social media channels.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: The Hustlin' Rebels will face San Jose State this weekend as they went 2-1 against the Spartans last season on the road. UNLV and CSU Bakersfield last in the 2019 season at home, with the Hustlin' Rebels winning 6-1. The series with the Roadrunners dates back to the 2012 season.
LOOKING BACK: The Hustlin' Rebels split its home series to Utah Tech last week, winning 11-1 in seven innings on Saturday and falling 11-1 in eight innings on Sunday. Additionally, the Scarlet & Gray fell to Arizona State, 12-11, at the Las Vegas Ballpark on Monday.
In game one against the Trailblazers, Jonny Rodriguez paced the offense going 4-for-4 with four singles and three runs scored. Parker Dillhoff went the distance, going 7.0 innings where he gave up one earned run on seven hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. Jack Salmon went 3-for-4 with two singles, one double, two RBI and one run scored, while Gunnar Myro hit the eventual walk-off two run home run to wrap up the game in seven innings.
In game two, Nin Burns II went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Tate Foxson came into relief in the fifth inning going 2.2 innings where he gave up three hits, one earned run, one walk and one strikeout. Gavyn Bowen also came into relief striking out a pair of batters in 1.1 innings and didn't allow a hit.
Against Arizona State, Drew Barragan recorded a 4-for-5 night with three singles and one triple, his team-leading fourth triple of the season. Barragan has notched a hit in 22 of the 24 games he has played and has an on-base streak of 22 games. Marcos Rosales belted his fourth home run of the season, a grand slam, in the eighth inning. Jonny Rodriguez walked three times in the game and now has 10 walks this season. Nin Burns II went 1-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Jacob Gomberg came in to relieve Colton Sundloff in the eighth inning where the lefthander went 2.0 innings giving up no hits, no runs, no walks and one strikeout.
NEWCOMERS MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: The UNLV Rebels' 2026 roster features 26 newcomers with 25 transfers and one true freshman; however, two of the transfers will not play this year due to injury, Drew Charney) and Kevin Smith. Seventeen of those newcomers made their Rebel debuts in the season-opening, nonconference series against the Austin Peay Governors. Delving deeper, six of those first-year Rebels have had a minimum of 70 plate appearances, while nine more have pitched in at least six games. Nin Burns II and Marcos Rosales have appeared in all 25 contests, as the former has started 24 of the 25 games in right field, while the latter has gotten 24 starts at second base. Drew Barragan and senior Ayden Garcia have seen action in 24 and 22 games, respectively. Jayden Sanchez has seen time in 14 games as well, with seven starts in center field. On the mound, the Scarlet & Gray has gotten starts from four newcomers - Parker Dillhoff, Felix Ong, Yates Bland and Ryan Marton.
REBELS PICKED SIXTH: UNLV was predicted to finish the 2026 conference season in sixth place (32 points) by the nine head coaches. The Rebels was slotted behind UNR (60 points/five first-place votes), Fresno State (55 points/three votes), conference newcomer Grand Canyon (47 points/one first-place votes), New Mexico (36 points) and San Jose State (33 points), who was picked to finish first through fifth, respectively. San Diego State (30 points), Washington State (17) and Air Force (14) were tabbed to conclude the year in seventh, eighth and ninth.
LANE TABBED TO MW'S PRESEASON TEAM: UNLV baseball's Carson Lane was named to the MW's Preseason All-Conference Team, which was voted on by the league's nine head coaches. The honor marks his first preseason All-Conference selection during his time with the Scarlet & Gray. Lane, a junior right-handed pitcher from Huntington Beach, California, was named to last season's All-MW First Team in his second season with the Hustlin' Rebels where he posted the second-most wins in MW action (5) and the third-most strikeouts in conference play (61). In MW action, Lane registered a 4.45 ERA in 56.2 innings after allowing 28 earned runs (30 total). He posted the fourth best opponent batting average at .230 and his season was highlighted by helping throw UNLV's first no-hitter since 2003 where he went eight innings striking out nine Fresno State batters on three walks en route to winning MW Pitcher of the Week and College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Pitcher of the Week accolades. The junior led the Rebels with 85 strikeouts, third among MW pitchers and recorded the second-best ERA in the MW (4.23) with a 6-4 record.
REBEL RETURNERS: Including All-Mountain West First Team honoree in Carson Lane, the Scarlet & Gray will see veterans Cooper Sheff and Gunnar Myro make their returns to the starting lineup. Sheff, a redshirt sophomore infielder, played in 53 games and started 49 of them where he batted .281 (fifth on the team) with 54 hits (fourth on the team) including 12 doubles, a triple and six home runs. The Las Vegas native brought in 30 RBI, scored the third-most runs on the team (41) and was named the MW Freshman of the Week three times last season. Myro, a junior from Las Vegas, played in 43 games with 35 starts where he batted .260 with a career-high 32 hits including four doubles and three home runs.
NEW REBEL PITCHERS: The Rebels welcome 26 newcomers, including key starting pitchers in Parker Dillhoff and Felix Ong. Dillhoff, who transferred from Louisiana, made nine appearances with two starts, throwing 7.1 innings with 10 hits allowed along with 11 earned runs. He struck out seven batters and collected a season-high four strikeouts in his Rajun Cajun debut where he threw two innings in a start against San Jose State. Ong, a sophomore transfer out of Florida, pitched in three games out of the UF bullpen as a true freshman. He fanned six batters in 3 1/3 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE REBELS: UNLV went 31-23 and punched its ticket to the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship for the first time since 2022 and 21st overall tournament berth. The Scarlet & Gray earned the four seed where they fell to the fifth-seeded Aztecs of San Diego State, 8-0, in the first round contest.The Scarlet & Gray returns 10 letterwinners from last year's team, and that includes four positional players and two starting pitchers – six pitchers in all.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: San Jose State won three out of the four games, taking both games against San Diego State and splitting two games against UConn. Kyle Calzadiaz was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, as the right hander tossed five shutout innings in relief in the Spartans' 3-2 victory over SDSU. Additionally, he struck out five Aztec batters and allowed only two hits while on the mound. Calzadiaz holds an ERA of 6.48 so far this season and leads the team with 29 total strikeouts. SJSU's Alex Fernandes has started all 24 games this season and leads the team in batting average (.461), OPS (1.254), runs (28), hits (41), doubles (7), triples (2), RBI (17), total bases (61), slugging percentage (.685), walks (21), on-base percentage (.569) and is tied for first with three home runs.
CSU Bakersfield's Evan Cloyd and Elijah Pelayo have both started all 24 games this season, with the former leading the team in batting average (.384), hits (33), RBI (26), total bases (49) and on-base percentage (.522). The latter has tallied a team-high eight stolen bases with a .319 clip with 12 RBI and 29 hits, the second most on the team. As a team, CSU Bakersfield has collected a 6.99 ERA giving up 161 earned runs with 164 strikeouts in 207.1 innings of work.Â
2026 SEASON: UNLV baseball will play a total of 55 regular season games in 2026, with five of those against two teams that participated in last season's NCAA Tournament. In all, the Rebels will play 32 home contests in Las Vegas with 31 of those on campus at Earl E. Wilson Stadium and one more – a March 23 affair against Arizona State – at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin.Â
In addition to the 24 Mountain West contests, the Scarlet & Gray's season slate is highlighted by 30 nonconference games against 15 squads that hail from 10 different leagues. Overall, these 15 teams compiled a .464 winning percentage, and five of those finished with winning records. Delving deeper, four – Austin Peay (ASUN), Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Milwaukee (Horizon) and Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) finished in the top three of their respective conference standings. Moreover, six of 2026's foes had an end-of-year NCAA RPI that was 125th or better, with six of those in the top 90: Arizona State at No. 49, BYU at No. 62 and Austin Peay at No. 90.
